Sunday Nov 8

I’ve been included in our district’s hiring process and have seen several good interviews and some really poor ones. A strong applicant stands out! Everything about that person seems top notch: attire, hygiene, the way he or she walks in the room, the confidence that is observed when answering questions even that person’s follow up questions are strong. In addition to interviewing, we should also go through a pile of resumes and cover letters and see if we could pick out top notch people to interview. This activity makes me wonder if spotting an exceptional staff member is as easy to do when all you have is a resume?

Saturday Nov 7

The Brave New World activity was a good way to demonstrate consensus. There were times when I really wanted to tell someone to hush and just agree, it’s really not that big of a deal. I sometimes tell my para-pros to choose their battles, this one’s not worth fighting for, so let it go. This consensus activity made me rethink others “feelings”. Unfortunately, this is an area of weakness for me. I must admit though, majority rules and we’ll probably never get consensus on new initiatives within a school district, I’ll be happy with 80%! But, I will consider how others feel about topics and try a little harder to motivate those who don’t agree.

Administrator induction

I really enjoyed the mock interview experience. One idea that kept crossing my mind was the topic of administrative induction. I would be hesitant to accept a job from a district lacking an induction/mentoring program for administrators. The analogy that comes to mind is handing over the keys of an 18 wheeler to a teenager who just completed driver education. No matter how well you are prepared for administration “academically”, there are always the “unknowns” or the real life experiences that creep up and throw you for a loop. For me, the ideal first administrative position will be in a building with an administrative team. I really enjoyed my shadowing experiences and my sub experiences in my school’s main office because of the novel situations encountered and the expert support that was readily available. It was an empowering experience to be a member on an administrative team providing perspective and receiving perspective. The actual experiences foster professional growth but the teaming allows you to grow from a meta-cognitive standpoint. This is critical. Even if the team is not located in the same building, it would be helpful if a district mentor was assigned, at least during the first year as a new administrator.

J. Curtis Last Sunday

I like the others thought the interviewing was good experience for myself to be put in the role of an administrator or someone asking the questions. That was my first time being on the other end of it and it definately is different than being the one interviewed. I thought our group put together some quality questions that would give us a very good idea of what kind of candidate we had. Nicole looked to be a little nervous, but was willing to learn and had some very good answers on how to handle parents and disciplining students in a manner that is beneficial.

Interviews

It was nice to take the administrative role in the interview process. After all of our discussions in this class as well as other classes you can really start to pick up on red flags that would have maybe skipped your attention before. I was glad the 4 came in as it was good practice for us but will benefit them as well. I can see how, depending on the school you are in, the hiring process could be a daunting task.

Third Sunday

I really enjoyed today's activities. I had been part of the interview process before but not in developing the questions or as part of an entire team. I felt that our group worked well together. The interview team discussions after the actual interview were also valuable. For some of the questions, we all had different reactions to the interviewee's responses.

Higbee-Last Sunday

The handout today regarding the old paradigm/new paragdigm contrast was of interest where the consensus from the class was that most of us have experienced the "sit and get" PD. Kudos to those in the class and their respective schools if you believe your PD would fall into the new paradigm model. Although the new paradigm model would appear in most cases to require more time and money, obviously the payoff (school improvement) in the long run is so much greater that the typical old paradigm methods that these greater costs make it well worth it. With all the discussion today about the mentoring/induction programs in our school, I feel one of the most important aspects of these programs is the accountability/responsibility on the part of the mentor. Also, give credit to those four who came in today for mock interviews. I would have enjoyed interviewing at least two people (even better if there were two vying for the same position). Finally, I'll second the motion for mock interviews for principal candidates during the internship seminars.

Final Sunday

The interview activity was one of the best activities that I've participated in so far in the program. I feel that the hands-on activities such as the interview assignment, and the evaluation process assignment from another class really gave me a taste of what it will be like to be an administrator. Activities like these are so valuable that I wish the program was more hands-on.

Last Sunday of Class

The "mock interviews" were probably one of the best activities we did, even though we had to complete them in extreme heat!!! It was such a learning process being able to work with an interview group from the start by formulating interview questions all the way through the actual interview.

Thanks everyone for making this class such an enjoyable learning experience. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season.

A good day!

I enjoyed today's interview activity. Coordinating the effort with a team, rather than going it alone was an important element, I thought. We had a really terrific candidate to interview, which made the team's conversation to gather suggestions for her improvement easy. There may have been some value in having the opportunity to interview another "less prepared" candidate, but that may have been difficult for them.

Thanks to everyone for a good class, and best of luck as we continue forward...to the end of the program and beyond!

Last Sunday

The interviews today were very helpful. While I have been a part of interviews before, I had not been a part of developing the questions. The experience within our class had a bit more of a leader feeling since we had been the ones to decide what to ask, and what to look for. I hope we were helpful to our teacher, and that this experience was beneficial as she begins her career.

Final Post

I thought conducting the teacher interview was a valuable experience, as was preparing the questions for the interview yesterday. I think the more practical skills one can acquire the better, and interviewing is definitely part of any principal's job. I think it would have been interesting to have more than one candidate to interview to consider which you would select for a position. Adding this aspect would have made it more real, and there tere would have been the opportunity for discussion about the selection process.

I appreciate the knoweledge shared in this class about the interview process, especially because there are so many things you cannot ask!

R Lee says Good Sunday

It was a good sunday, we got out early, had a take home final and we were able to assist some student teachers in taking on their first "interviews". It also helped us because we got to figure out what questions we might want to ask a prospective student and we got to go through the procedure as well. In reflection of the whole course I was exposed to many things about personnel issues I had not thought about but the information was delivered in a PP format coupled with lecture. This type of instruction does not engage me, I need those activities like we had today. I liked the topics we covered and I think overall it was a good class to take; not too overwhelming on the work load while at the same time exposing me to some very valid content. As always enjoyed my classmates and contrats to Janet and Kristin for it being their last class. Good Job Ladies!

Randy Lee

Sunday, November 8th

Going through the interview process this weekend, developing questions, interviewing/observing. rating and then discussing was very beneficial as a future leader. It is really important to come up with questions that are tailored to the position being interviewed for. All aspects of the job should be addressed (lessons, classroom management, ISAT, etc) and all applicants should be asked the same questions. It was interesting to see what some of the other school districts used in their interviews. I also liked having some sort of rating system to use during the interview. I've never been in an interview that has used one, but I think it's a good idea, as long as the criteria for rating is clear to all on the interview committee.
The interviews today were a good experience for both groups (interviewers, candidates). I learned what to listen and look for while interviewing a future teacher. I think we all came away from this experience with good tips when interviewing and being interviewed. I wish we could have done more than one, just to gain more experience.

Sunday Week 3

The practice interviews were very helpful. I thought it was very interesting how people perceive different answers and other things involved in the process. A perfect example is dress. Several people would have preferred a white shirt on the applicant, while others thought he was dress ok. What is the preferred number of people to have in an interview? With more people there is a likely chance you could have several different ideas on the applicant. This could be a good thing or it could complicate matters. Myself, I like hearing different view points.
I would have liked to have another applicant interview that day, and then the team could have had an opportunity to debate which was better. The hope would have been that both candidates would be close, so the debate process would be beneficial.

Sunday

The mock interviews today were eye-opening. It proved the questions that go in to the interview should be well thought out and clarified. We ran across a question or two that with different wording would have been clearer for the candidate.
The discussions on principal evaluation was a plus as well. I was unaware of the February first deadline and that will be good to know going in to a new job.

Teacher interviews

Today’s mock interviews were helpful in two ways. Not only did it help me prepare for the day when I will hopefully be a principal interviewing teachers, but it gave me a chance to reflect on how well prepared I am for interviews for a principal position.

Interview

I really enjoyed the interviews conducted today, especially because I was part of the music interview. Being a math teacher, music content is not something that I am familiar with, and I can see the value of having a member of the inteview committee who is a lead teacher in that content area. They can serve as a great resource, but ultimately needs to be someone who's opinion you can trust.

Last Class

This class has been very informative. Today the mock interviews were very enlightening. It was interesting to speak with other class members and learn how the process is handled at differing districts. It was even more eventful to be able to interview a student who was looking to work in Music. I think the most important thing I learned was that you need to have the department head involved in interviews, especially when you are not familiar with the subject. Reading the standards doesn't mean you know exactly what you know what you expect.

The Old and New Paradigm

I believe that adminstrators either have their blinders on or they are scared to go over to the new paradigm in regards to professional develoment. Yes, it is going to be more work to implement professional development that goes beyond the sit and get idea. It takes a great deal of team work but it will make for a much more succesful school climate. Everyone working together to develop a program that is effective across the entire school. The coaches train the rest of the staff and they are their for them for questions and extra help with implementation. It is something that needs to be a continous implementation or program. There is a great deal that goes into the new paradigm of professional development and I love it. It is such a wonderful thing to have something that you stick with and continue to learn about as a school community.

Final Sunday

Today's interview activity was very good. The opportunity to go through those steps, from creating a question list and thinking about possible answers to actually asking the questions and providing feedback to the candidate, was a great experience.

Our discussion about induction and mentoring was interesting. I had never thought about mentoring the non-certified staff - thanks Tim for asking bringing up that topic. Good advice and thoughts followed.

All in all a good class. Many topics were covered that will be beneficial to all of us as future administrators.

Interview Day

I found the interviews to be an extremely valuable experience. This is a task that we will have to complete frequently as administrators. Even though we were not being the ones interviewed, examining the responses of the "applicants" gave me an insight as to how I need to be prepared for my interview. I need to know the latest research, terms, etc. concerning administration. I would like to be interviewed as a principal candidate as well. It would be immensely helpful to have that practice before I start looking for jobs.

Sunday, November 8

The mock interviews of the student teachers was a great experience. It also made me think a lot about how I interview. The group interview was a good time to colloborate and talk about what we each saw during the interview. It was nice to see the different perspectives.

Week 3 Interviews

Interviews were great. Gave an opportunity to practice asking questions and follow up questions like an actual interview. Doing it as a group gave me insight into what others picked up on that I did not. Great activity.

Interviewing

Interviewing is a two way street. It requires leaders/interviewers to be able to draw out responses and follow-up with questions in order to help candidates elaborate on their answers. During our mock interview, most answers were very short. I think this is because the students still lack critical experiences which helps them answer questions. In a way, this is a good set-up for us. It required our team to ask follow-up questions and try to draw out the candidate. This is a good activity for this class, and hopefully helps the student teachers as well.

Third weekend

Bringing in the conselors was a great idea. I learned alot about the changing position requirements of the position. I liked to get the input of people in the field and see how they would like to see a administrator handle a situation. I was surprised to hear how often they wanted to be in the classroom as this is a practice that does not happen in my school. I found it interesting that the position of social worker and conselor was so much different. I thought they were basically the same. I also liked the presentations. Hearing perspectives from other teachers in different schools always adds another perspective to a situation.

Dohse, Aimee Professional Development

When reading the article today in regards to professional development and contrasting the old paradigm vs. the new paradigm...I reflected on my own personal experience with professional development. I do believe that it's important that teachers have time for application of professional development, time for collaboration, and coaches that are well versed in the professional development. If something is to be implemented with fidelity, and it is a large undertaking, it is important that the supports are in place.

sunday last class

This is my last class in the program. I think that this was a great program and it has helped me tremendously as a teacher to see both sides of issues, and to understand what administrators go through.

sat nov 7

Saturdays class was very hot! The presentation was very nice, and the power points were interesting.

R Lee's November 7th Blog

Last weekend, that is always good. It was a tough day today, hot and it was a day where lecture was the main delivery method of the content. Those two make it very hard for me to stay focused in the classroom. We were able to do two activities; hopeful counselor candidates came in and we got to ask them some questions regarding their jobs. It is good to see WIU's counselor department provide such a diversified curriculum for its students. I always just saw a counselor as what the presenter shared with us, someone who schedules, someone who is in charge of JH dances, someone who helps with college applications, etc.....a job that seemed to be a no brainer. But when Dr. Nickels and her associate started discussing the clinical part of the job; gave me a new perspective and appreciation for what they do. I also became informed about the ratio of students to counselors that exists in most schools. Later on we were asked by professor Closen about what we would do in a certain situation and a classmate said, "call the counselor"; when just prior to that we had heard that counselors are spread thin, upwards of 500 students to 1 counselor. It was also good that we got to come up with some interview questions for the student teachers today, I am clueless with respect to the elementary educational world so my input was not overwhelming at this task, but I did learn about what makes a good set of general questions for any level of teacher.

Saturday Presentations

I thought our group had an interesting variety of presentations. Randy’s presentation really made me think about the impact of zeros on a student’s grade and attitude. I am not sure where I stand on the policy of giving a 50% in place of a zero, but I agree with the sentiment that a zero is disproportionate on the grading scale. Jeremy had an interesting perspective on the value of coaches and the importance of meaningful evaluation of coaches. As some of the people our students admire and respect the most in our schools, leaders have the responsibility to select quality coaches and assure that they are held to the same high standards we set for classroom teachers. These are some things I had not thought about before.

Saturday, Weekend 3

The presentation by the professional school counselor was very informative. I was unaware of the many services counselors can offer to students and the opportunities that exist for collaboration with instructors. In addition, it was beneficial to learn about the professional standards for school counselors prior to becoming an administrator. Professional standards are the criteria used for instructor evaluations in Iowa and I am assuming that the standards shared during the presentation would be the criteria used to evaluate school counselors. Are there any other school staff members or professionals who are evaluated by building administrators using a different set of standards? If so, are there national standards in existence that a new building administrator could reference?

Counselors

I really enjoyed the counselors visiting today. I hadn't really thought about that aspect of being a principal. I will keep in mind their suggestions today, and also remember that they are a vital asset to any school. I liked their statistics on how a child whose needs are met, does better in school. Those types of numbers speak volumes to everyone about how important a child's well being is.

I found the counselor presentation(s) to be very enlightening. Our high school had 3 counselors for 900+ students and the two middle schools share a counselor. There have been times that I didn't feel that they did enough. By these definitions they should be doing different things than I expected. Maybe they do.

I enjoyed the presentations. I was part of SAC training several years ago. As we discussed after Tara's presentation... the timing and school climate just wasn't right. I also found it interesting that, while many schools have Student Led Conferences, they are done differently.

Saturday

I found the counselor session this morning eye opening to say the least. Our district has one counselor in the true sense of the word but she handles K - 8. She is spread too thin and can't seem to get out of the elementary school to do anything in the middle school. It was eye opening because after listening to the presentation today, I see a huge benefit in having a good school counselor at the middle and high school. I further see benefits in some type of training for the staff from the counselor. Early out days would be a great time.
I enjoyed the presentations in small groups today. The topics were well researched and very well presented.

Going outside was GREAT!

Third Saturday

I felt that today's work with the counselors was very interesting. This is a group of people who are quite significant to the successful operation of your school. Understanding how these individuals are trained during the interview makes a great deal of sense. Getting those counselors who have been trained with the "professional counselor" mentality rather than the "guidance counselor" mindset will be a must in the present educational climate.

I also felt that the time spent looking at interview questions and discussing what "good" answers would look/sound like was time well-spent. I found a lot of consistency between the questions that group members brought to share.

The Last Saturday

I found the presentation by the counseling department very eye opening. My school district is limited on the actual number of counselors and I learned we are not using them to their full potential. My district primarily sees the counselor as a guidance counselor and not a professional school counselor. I learned as an administrator how important it is to be pro-active vs. reactive to issues, and to use your counselor as a professional school counselor. Also I learned many interesting facts from the afternoon class presentations. In my group we covered many topics from merit pay, co-teaching, student-led conferences, and the student aligned classrooms. I am going to try out Tara's idea about the "I CAN....." statement. We have walkaway goals at my school, but the "I CAN ...." statement will make it easier for the student to explain what actually happened in the classroom and what exactly can they do after the lesson.

Week 3 Saturday

Hearing from the counselors was nice as I was unaware of the new expectations. Letting them shed some light on what they want to/should be doing should help if put into a situation of hiring or evaluating. Presentations were good, nice to see some elementary teachers to help gain further perspective as I have always been in the high school setting. Looking forward to interviewing student teachers to see how they answer some of our questions.

Saturday, Nov. 7th

The discussion with school counselors was very interesting. Distinguishing between guidance and school counselors was helpful because I do think some people confuse the two. It also stressed the importance of having counselors in schools, especially with all that students deal with these days.

The presentations I got to see were very good. Mary Kelly did a great one on school climate. She showed a video of a school that is posted on the school website and that school looked so inviting. It is something we should all think about-as teachers as well as leaders.

I look forward to interviewing the student teachers tomorrow. I think it will be beneficial to both of groups.

Caldwell; School counselors

The presentation by Holly and the high school counselor was an excellent source of information. Holly stated that the counselors from Western graduate with a well rounded education and I have to agree. In my experiences, I feel I have been prepared for a variety of situations that I did not expect. The small group discussion was really nice and the counselor provided insight to what a counselor's role is and how the counselor can be utilized in the school setting. The handouts provided on the western on line are very informative and useful.

Saturday Week 3

I thought the discussion over the interview questions was very good. It helps hear other points of view on why they would want to ask certain questions.

Also having the counselors in hearing what they can actually bring to a school building was helpful. It was nice to know that they are able to do more than class scheduling and give the PSAE Test.

School Counselor

Dr. Nikles' presentation and the follow-up small group discussions this morning really opened my eyes to how the school counselor can make the administrator's life at school a lot easier.

Preventative programs in the classroom, although taking from academic time, are key to keeping the lid on the middle school society. The counselor's established relationships with parents and students and knowledge of school and student issues can provide the administrator with insight that they would never have without the counselor's input.

I think that an administrator who discourages preventative programs in the classrooms or pulling kids from class for conferences with the counselor should imagine life without the counseling staff.

Higbee 3rd Saturday

With the high stress levels that can be commonplace in schools, it was worthy to break down the more common types of stress and how they evolve. Even more noteworthy were the discussions and recommendations for avoiding burnout and relieving stress in the workplace. Also, I appreciated the time spent allowing the respective counselors to enlighten us as to what they do and how their roles in the schools have evolved in recent years. A lot of what they explained today cleared up some of the questions regarding the guidance counselors (yes I called them guidance counselors) that work in our building. I also like the idea of having a mental health specialist in the building for both students and staff.

J. Curtis Presentations

The presentations today were overall very well planned. I especially enjoyed the power point on supporting african-american students in the classroom. It was interesting to hear Janet's statistics of african-american staff ratio to students. Being the next city over, my building has much more african-american staff and our building leader is a female african-american. Her building had a 25% free/reduced population, whereas mine is 84%. Significantly different and being so close to one another is very interesting.

Martin Dave

I thought that the visit from the counselor was very beneficial. It seems at times in the schools that the roles of the counselors are not defines. Understanding their professional training and what there intentions and objectives are was beneficial. The projects were also something I enjoyed. I had the same topic as other people in my group and it was nice to here a different take on the topic that I presented. I believe that it will help me as I improve in the delivery of student-led conferences.

Professional School Counseling

I think the presentation from the school counselors was interesting and informative. I think there is a misconception about the role of school counselors, and these ladies helped clarify many of them. I did not realize that they were qualified mental health professionals, as well, which definitely explains the length of their program. Their role in a school is definitely important, although often misunderstood. The documents provided will be nice to file away for future reference.

School Counselors

Being a school counselor I have an advantage as I enter into the world of school administration when it comes to know what to expect of school counselors. I feel that guidance and special education are two areas that administrators are often fearful of if they don't have any background in either of these areas. In my opinion, school administrators are fearful of these two departments because they are not knowledgable of the content or the rules. Therefore, instead of challenging those in these departments they shy away from them. I feel each individual is an expert in their own content area, but in the areas of guidance and special education especially, people can "hide" for years and not accomplish much of anything. It's very important for administrators to be actively involved in both of these departments to ensure that the individuals in these departments are working to the best of their abilities and simply not "putting their time in" to collect a paycheck. Counselors and special education staff can be huge assets to a district, but only if they are being held accountable in improving student acheivement.

Counselor's Role - Alicia Christiansen

I found the counselor presentation and breakout session to be very beneficial to me as a future administrator. As a teacher I see what tasks my counselor is designated to do as well as the impact that she has on staff and students. Hearing how the world of counseling has changed and how the role of the professional counselor has changed was very interesting and very helpful. I feel like I have a better understanding of what the role of the counselor is and how it can benefit me as a leader.

Dohse,Aimee Day Counselors

Visiting with the counselors was a great experience. When Kelly said that it is important to make sure you know where your counselors are and what they are doing, it made perfect sense. I also enjoyed the break-out session we had where we were able to ask individual questions. I found out some valuable information. We were told that counselors can have up to 5 private discussions with a student before getting the parents approval. The information we were given will be valuable in my new position.

J Curtis Interviewing Students

I think a lot of the reading was common sense, but I thought it was interesting that if a student refuses to speak to law enforcement, the interview may not proceed on school grounds.

Counselor Presentation

I learned a great deal from the counselor presentation today. The people in my group have already heard this, but I will repeat my question here. While I believe that counselors coming into the classroom in the high school setting could be useful, I am questioning how many times the regular instructional period can be interrupted. So many organizations, programs, and initiatives only want "just one or two class periods" to present their case. With all of these people vying for instructional time, so many times actual instruction time gets pushed to the background. I would love to be able to present a viable solution, but I have yet to figure one out!

Saturday, November 7th

I really enjoyed talking with the counselors. I enjoyed the presentation they gave and really value counselors in the buildings. Even though we don't have a counselor, we have an Outreach Worker, he really does a lot to help our students. I would like to see counselors in our building to help with social/emotional learning. I do strongly believe that there should be at least one counseling class required in this program as it really helps to know that once you reach the administrative side (the Dark Side), you RELLY need to know the developmental stages of adolescents and why they do the things they do!! (If we'll EVER know why!!!!)

Saturday week-end 3

I really learned a great deal from the counselors. Things will help me understand their job. I found it very interesting that a requirement of the program is to prepare curriculum that is taught to the students. As, a administrator it is important to work with your counselors to establish the needs of the students. Then they can prepare curriculum that is productive for the student population. Also, as an adminstrator observing the students from the un-structured time can be eye opening in regards to behavior. I learned that counselors can see a student five times without paretnal consent. A good suggestion that was given is to have a setion in the handbook where the parents can sign taht their child can see the counselor anytime. This way they are covered throughout the school year as long as the parent signed the handbook. If anyone did not know this they can go to the ASCA web-site and get a lot of good information on conseling. As a principal you should make sure that you have a good realtionship with your conselors. Find out what their strenghts are and what things they would like to improve on as a conselor.

Building a Relationship

In the reading was interesting to see even 400 years ago how two different cultures built a relationship and worked through their problems together, while leaning on each other in areas of need; such as safety. Without communication their is no way to build a positive trust worthy relationship that can benefit both parties.

Sunday's class was interesting the IIRC stuff is cool and coming up with a job placement was interesting and useful.

Top-Notch Teachers

This being my eighth year in education I feel I have a pretty good idea of what teachers around me are highly qualified and which ones aren't. To me, the ones that are highly qualified have more than content knowledge in the area they are teaching and tons of college credits. Highly qulified to me means they are also willing to change with the times. In my building, we have a poor mentoring system because we have so-called highly qualified teachers doing the mentoring, but just because they have a master's degree or they've been doing it for twenty years should not make them highly-qualified. I feel our new teachers have really been done a disservice because they come in with so much energy and enthusiasm for teaching and I have already noticed with a few of them they've lost that because they are so overwhelmed and don't have the support there that they needed in order to start them off on the right foot. As a future administrator, I feel this is a very important program and see what an important role it can play in a building so I plan to spend a lot of time with the program so that it's effective.

Sunday

I really appreciate the examples that Dr. Closen gave in class that will help all of us avoid some legal issues in the future. I know we discussed some of these issues in law, but not nearly as in-depth as we have in this class. I know personally, one of my biggest worries is about all of the legal issues we will be facing as administrators. It's good to know what questions I can/cannot answer and how to answer them when giving a reference. Even if there is proof that someone committed a crime, I now know that it's not my responsibility to tell ther person calling all about that individual, that some of that the potential hiring district needs to find some of that on their own or I could be in a lot of trouble. I think this is to bad, but like Dr. Closen said...it won't matter what they've done to some districts they'll still hire them anyway.

2nd Sunday

Today's work with the case studies was beneficial. I always find it valuable to put myself in these situations and think about what decision I would make. The thoughts and ideas of others always force me to think more deeply about the issues involved and perhaps arrive at a different decision than initially derived.

I continued to find the information about the hiring process interesting and highly relevant. It was a good weekend!

Sunday

Sunday class always feels so long, but I took quite a bit away. The group activities are beneficial because it gives me a place to begin to put the puzzle together. Collaboration is invaluable but when you are given a specific action to complete and allowed enough time to do so, it means much more. I enjoyed the case studies in class today and the discussions that my group had.

One area that I picked a tip up on was the observations and how to schedule them. I liked the idea of creating a calendar and having the staff take charge of scheduling their own observations. This also falls into one of the essential functions of a principal, accurate record keeping.

Saturday

It only makes sense that Top Notch teachers would affect their peers which in turn affects student achievement. The possibilities are endless when it comes to merit pay in regards to these teachers and more importantly the impact these teachers would have on students and other teachers alike. A plan like this may impact the burnt out veteran and create an atmosphere far more conducive to the learning process for both students and younger teachers.

The class discussions from Saturday were interesting to me because I suppose I was naive to a degree when it came to the work involved in hiring. The three deep reference check is a policy I think a district may be silly not to implement. As I reflect on the conversation I can think of two teachers who were let go that this policy could have saved everyone involved a lot of time.

I thought the discussion of what is to be said when being called for a reference was very good. I thought the case study was interesting in that the person who quit had people calling to see what kind of reference was being given by the principal. I remember Dr. DeSpain recommending if you have nothing good to say, make the following statement “I have no reference to or for this individual”. And I thought the books response for the question “Would you hire this person back” and the response is “We take all of our candidates seriously”. It’s a very good response that gets you off the hook. I also enjoyed the group work, with the IIRC. There is lots of information there to try and digest. And next weekend should be interesting to see who will be the 6 big winners to go on the island. Remember to vote for Bill!

The article on the Top Notch Teacher makes some good points. The authors make the statement that scores rise when a high-quality teacher comes on board. What does high-quality mean? We know teachers who are experts in the content area, but can not relate the material to the students. I think you have to have someone who is “excited” about whatever they are teaching. That comes across to the students, and then you have a chance for them to pay attention and hope they learn something.
If a beginning teacher comes in and wants to learn the “craft” from other teachers, they will be able to pick up ideas. But they have to want to learn. Mentoring can only go so far.

Top Notch Article

Before reading this article I was convinced that when I became a principal, one of the first things I would do is put a mentoring program in place if the school didn't have one. I was never a part of a mentoring program, and always felt like it would have been beneficial. Instead as a new teacher, I sought out who I believed were exemplary teachers, and I asked them questions constantly. This article made me question mentoring programs. Is that required time taking away planning time? Could new teachers be more successful by seeking out advice when needed, and have the support of outstanding teachers in that way?
I also wondered about Mr. Jackson's statement about whether or not teachers would compete rather than collaborate with each other. I believe that if you can set a good building climate then this can be avoided. Team types of activities should be in place to foster the environment of learning from each other, and increasing student achievement.

Chapter six

This chapter really answers a lot of questions for me, and provided information that I had never been aware of. Good, practical stuff - this book's a "keeper"!!!

In these times of budget-trimming, the position analysis is more important than ever. Identifying all aspects of the job to not only fit the mission of the school, but also the bottom-line needs must be considered. The case study of the computer lab para was a good illustration of the mess that can be created (and the money that can be wasted) when this identification is not done properly. A good lesson to learn here!

The design of the questions was also a great eye-opener. I have been on a few interview teams recently, but was not involved in writing the questions. Now I can see how they fit into the four categories detailed on p. 121 (situational, position knowledge, etc.). That's a pretty great list of "tough" questions to refer to on p. 122, too. "Always seek to ask the tough questions..." - good advice.

Hiring is a huge responsibility. This chapter clearly outlines the steps to take to make a good "go" of it - worthy of a great big bookmark!

Sunday 2: comment and question

I enjoyed the group work and hearing other people's perspectives. The concensus exercise is an interesting one. I have used similar exercises with my classes and found that I saw a different side of my students during the exercise - many strengths surfaced. I thought that I was familiar with the IIRC, but seem to find more information everytime I log in. Is there anything at all in Iowa that allows school, prospective employees and the public to view similar information?

My second question deals with the principal's test. A friend going through Bradley's program was told that there would be changes to the exam in 2010 and that it would be to her advantage to take the test this year. Has anyone heard about that?

Questioning and Job Decision

I think using stock questions from the internet or other sources is good as a model but crafting your own questions can help you prevent filling the position with the wrong person. Questions should be open ended but serve as a means to and end of your choosing. I also did not really consider, prior to today, the intimidating aspect of the interview process and how putting the interviewee at ease can lead to further explanation.
There is also a lot of information and data to consider before choosing an administrative job. I think too many people don't consider all of this information before taking the job, they just want a job and find themselves in a no win situation.

Sunday- Weekend 2

A lot of information to digest the last two days on personnel issues. The skills of an effective leader make you realize what is important traits for a great educational leader. I still don't understand how come women who are assertive are considered a b&^$%!! But then gentlemen who are assertive are just being a professional in the work place.

The Brave New World III activity was worthwhile, hearing other people's rational on whether someone should be included or dismissed from the roster. I can hardly wait for the "group" consensus.

Sunday

I enjoyed our discussion on interviewing today. There were a lot of "what if" questions/ answers brought up by the class which I found helpful. I have been on several interview committees, but the role is very different as a principal. The guidelines shared will be helpful in the future.
I also found the "Skills of effective leaders" discussion very good. I believe it will help when it comes time to start job searching. I know I possess some of these traits, but also realize that I have several to improve!! Good discussions all around today :)

Top-Notch Teacher

I think this article states the obvious…teachers work hard/better when they have something to prove. The idea of merit-pay I think needs to have a roll in how teachers gain tenure (if at all) and how schools gain academic excellence. Having a worked in the business sector prior to entering the teaching field, the reality of learning from and growing from the best around you is a simple idea that if finally being looked at in education.
If you can pair a good new teacher and a good veteran, the student achievement should go through the roof. If you pair an average new teacher and a good veteran, you should see the teacher and the students grow academically. Veteran teachers with burnout can become invigorated by good new teachers.
I disagree with the statement about mentoring not being effective. Mentoring programs can help new teachers in more than one way. If you are only looking at numbers, you’re not going to find anything. You have to look at the bigger picture…who was the mentor, was this a reason the new teacher left, did they have the full support needed? So many factors are involved in why new teachers leave and how they affect student learning that you can’t pass out a survey and get a correct response.
I believe that merit pay, induction programs, and mentoring should all be factors in creating top-notch teachers. Each plays an important role in increasing student achievement, teacher growth, and successful schools.

Sunday

Sunday: Our discussions about interviewing was valuable. I was involved in several interview committees at the end of last school year and the material in our text would have been an asset to me. While reflecting on the "dos" and "don'ts" of the interviewing process, I would have changed some of the techniques we employed. It was interesting to note that one of the "dos" is to make the applicant feel comfortable. While I was interviewing applicants, I became very uncomfortable when the applicant was uncomfortable. I think this would be an area of weakness for me as an administrator, not the actual decision making, but the physical interview.
Jennifer Caldwell

2nd Sunday!

I found today’s discussion about reference checks and the legality issues that can arise based on what you say to be extremely beneficial. I feel like there are so many hidden items not discussed in the world of leadership, which eventually leads to one getting them in trouble. I have also made sure that I have highlighted those in the text for future reference.

merit pay

I agree with the point given by Mr. Jackson, the assistant professor at Cornell University, that school level merit pay will build team work rather than it based individually which may have a negative effect. I never thought about merit pay this way. I like this idea better than individual incentives. Of course, then you take the risk that some teachers will slide along and not do their part of the work but still receive the pay.

Weekend 2 Day 2 Martin

The thing that sticks out for me today is the interviewing process and things to be cautious of in that process. Categorizing questions into certain categories is a helpful tool that I would definitely use. I think giving those categories to the teachers on the committee and asking them to come up with a question for each category might also give them more of a stake in the process. Another interesting thing is the references you have to take into account. Not only giving a negative feedback but also giving a positive feedback can create issues if you do not follow the protocol. Not offering a lot of info that is not asked is a good rule to follow.

Personnel

The one issue I was hoping we would discuss more indepth today is how to "fire a problem." How do you deal with a tenured employee who does nothing but bring down morale and possibly undermines your authority as an administrator. I know that is what policy is for, but it doesn't take into account "the way it's always been done." Even worse, what if this person is your assistant principal or other administrative staff. Something I think eventually we will have to deal with and handle with the utmost professionalism.

Saturday

I do believe that teachers raise their game when the quality of teachers improve. This has actually been happening at my school over the past few years. We have had retirements, some of which were burning out and a staff member leave who was thought to be very negative. The new staff that has some in are highly qualified, as well as motivated. In turn, it has "breathed new life" into our school. When the authors were discussing merit pay, I agreed with them about the problem of individual merit pay. I believe this would foster too much competition and teamwork would become nonexistent. I do like the idea of merit pay by school, however. I think that would be a great team building motivator!!

Saturday:Top Notch Teachers; Jennifer Caldwell
I found the conversation about mentors in the article very interesting. the author suggests that a highly structured mentoring program may cause issues for new teachers. A highly structured program would require a specified amount of time with all new teachers to meet with their mentors. This would take time from planning lessons and such. However, this required time could be spent as a team effort in planning lessons. We have a formal mentoring program in our district and I find that the "informal" mentoring relationships have as much as value as the formal relationships.

Dohse,Aimee/Brave New World 3

I truly enjoyed the group work today. It was fun working with the group and gaining the different perspectives of the team and their rationale for who they would, and would not take.

Okay, here is my next thought for the day. I'm new to IIRC and really need to go home and soak this up. Does anyone have a suggestion as to where I could go and get some of my questions answered on this website? I know it may seem a little more self-explanatory if you are from Illinois.

Higbee-2nd Sunday

I'm sure all of us can think of at least one example where a colleague has inspired us through example to "up our game" and become better teachers. From a principal's perspective, I would want at least one teacher in each subject area that would serve as a peer leader for others in their core subject. As far as incorporating an incentive system to reward these "top-notch teachers" would be a difficult and controversial program to set up and maintain. There would be way to much criteria to take into account.
Of the Essential Functions of a Principal, I really don't believe there can be anything lacking in order for the principal to be the true leader of their respective building. This, of course, is a difficult proposition since as noted in class today that many of our own principals aren't 100% proficient with all of these functions.

Lana Wolf Sunday Class

The frustrations I have with teacher recommendations are the same frustrations I have with student discipline. It is hard to hold people accountable for their actions because of fear of litigation. With the rash of educators in the news for bad behavior, it is difficult to convince me that many of these cases weren't "bad apples" being passed from district to district. This makes me sick and I don't know what to do about it.

Sunday

In my humble opinion, the only thing that is certain about personnel issues is that nothing is certain or concrete. If principals use common sense when commenting on employees or enforcing regulations, there should be no problems. Unfortunately, as often proven, this is not often the case. If we follow the simple of rule of thinking before we speak, we should be fine. I do like the list of 10 guidelines in the book concerning what to do during reference checks. These lists prove to be the most helpful and something that I can see myself referring to when I am a principal.

Sunday October 25th- Article Reflection

We clearly learn from our peers.There is a mentoring program at my school and most of the time a master teacher is the mentor. Although sometimes this does not happen. Therefore like it says in the article good things might not happen if a new teacher is set up with a teacher that is lacking in teaching skills.In the article it talks more about this in regards to urban and suburban schools. The new teacher starts off in the inner-city teaching and there are mostly new teachers because they are not staying very long. The problem they found is that highly-qualified are not in the inner-city schools so that new teacher do not have mentors leading them to success. It is mentioned in the artiicle that mentoring maybe a waste of time in some cases. But I believe for the most part it is a positive thing to have. There might be a teacher that is more-skilled but there are always things to learn when you are the new person in the school. Having a mentor will be beneficial.

Sunday, October 25th

Today's class raised good discussion on the questions we were answering as a group. There are a lot of things that can be overlooked during the interview process that if you wrote everything down for the next time, your interviews can last for a very long time. In other words, if you try to cover EVERY point that could potentially turn into an issue a few months down the road from hiring a person then you would have a lot of ground to cover. On the flip-side, if you are a good potential hire, you should automatically assume there will be additional activities that you should perform in order to make an impact and propel yourself above the rest. If you don't have this type of attitude and basically come in with the thought that you are only going to do what your contract says, it may be tough to get a good job!

Weekend 2 Sunday: Why are personnel policies so ambiguous?

This was a question I struggled with as I completed the policy assignment. Policies are written in ambiguous terms so they can be applied to a broad range of situations. Vague policies result in debate and are open to different interpretations. When policies are too specific this creates additional administrative burdens in terms of application. Working in a district where policies are too specific would require constant revisions and adding more stipulations and/or exceptions to existing policies. Take for example inappropriate dress. As an administrator, I’d want a vague or general policy, such as “instructors should dress in a professional and appropriate manner during contract hours.” In this scenario, I could set the precedence for building specific guidelines. I could tell my staff that Fridays are “Casual” days or the only weekday when jeans and gym shoes are acceptable for instructional staff. A policy that was specific or gave a precise structure, would not allow for deviation or application to novel situations. If the policy concerning dress code read “Instructors cannot wear jeans, gym shoes, shorts, tee-shirts etc….” my job would be that of a manager, policing agent, and/or policy enforcer. In addition, if an instructor was wearing something that was clearly inappropriate but not mentioned on the list, then what?

Alternative Reflection for 10/4/09

Life Safety Walk Through
After telling my superintendent that I had received my internship packet, she informed me that she had my first official assignment! I was to walk “Mr. Smith”, the county Life Safety Inspector though the building and answer any questions that he may have. I quickly informed her that I had no idea what he would be looking for, nor had I ever completed anything like this before. Her reply was: “There’s no better time to learn than the present!” At ten o’clock I arrived back in her office to find “Mr. Smith” late. When he arrived at 10:15 my superintendent introduced me and explained I was starting my internship and I would be completing the walk through. Our maintenance man would assist me in unlocking cabinets and doors. “Mr. Smith” explained that he doesn’t check everything on his list because, that would take weeks. He performs “spot checks” on selected items that would pose the most harm. We walked though the whole building. Here are the areas he discussed concern with:
One of our trophy cases didn’t have safety glass in it and could sever an arm if a student would be shoved into it.
In the elementary wing, posters and papers should be at least two feet from the ceiling, because fire will climb walls. Once fire gets into a drop ceiling, it spreads very fast.
In the high school wing, he noted that all classrooms should be kept locked while unattended. If a fire were to break out and a student would wander into an unattended classroom, nobody would know where that student is.
Toward the end of our walk though we met up with the superintendent. He said that this wasn’t a site violation, but he noticed that most of the classrooms had mini refrigerators in them and that removing them could cut electricity costs by 10-20%. She informed him that she had bigger fish to fry, but thanked him for his suggestion.
I asked if our school was going to be “wrote up” for these violations? “Mr. Smith” said no. He was a principal for twenty years and knew how inspections went. ??? He would make some recommendations to our superintendent and let her take it from there.
This wasn’t anything that I expected! I thought the Life Safety guy was someone we should “fear”. Not this one! I respected the way he showed concern about certain things, but then provided WHY there was a concern. He appeared intelligent and generally impressed with our school and our life safety habits.

Alternative Reflection for 10/3/09

George Batsche Seminar
I had the opportunity to hear George Batsche speak in Bloomington, IL on October 21st. He is from the University of Southern Florida and has a PhD in Psychology. He’s known for his research on Response to Intervention and its effectiveness. He turns educating students into a pure science. The best thing about Dr. Batsche is the fact that he doesn’t sugar coat anything! The topic of his seminar was Response to Intervention: Advanced Implementation Issues. He discussed how important the PRINCIPAL and internal coaches were to implementation. Considering RtI is supposed to be up and running in every district by the 2010-2011 school year, I felt like there should have been more administrators there. Unfortunately, many school districts around me have hired RtI coaches. This is a good start, but the coaches A.) aren’t trained well and B.) they don’t have the power to make the decisions of a principal. Critical decisions like scheduling, funding and reallocating personnel need to be made by a principal or superintendent in order for RtI to work well. One of the best key points he made was for teachers to Teach…Review…Modify…Instruct! This is a new concept for many teachers, even those coming out of universities within the last few years. Many teachers are stuck in the rut of Teach & Grade, those students who get it, good! Those who didn’t, we can always call them learning disabled! Disclaimer: ALL teachers MUST be given time in order to reflect on their teaching and analyze their data.

10/24/09 Top Notch Teachers....

The idea of implanting good teachers in a building and hoping that their knowledge, attitude, and experience will rub off is a wonderful idea. Our RtI team was very keyed up about this new initiative and wanted everyone “on board”. I’d like to think that our enthusiasm helped build excitement. We were trained in every aspect of the RtI process and we disseminated the information to the rest of the school. Teachers would ask questions and want more ideas to use within their classroom after the team would come back from seminars. I think there would be many variables that would affect this type of research though. It would be nice to see another similar study completed just for comparison.

dave martin

The article "Top Notch Teachers" made some interesting points. In some ways it seemed to be common sense. Working with quality professionals will increase effectiveness. To me this seems to be true of most professions. I think most of us have experience working with someone who inspires and motivates you to be better at what you do. People you don't want to let down. In many ways it is contagious. The facts about urban schools was interesting as well. Staffing those schools with people who are less experienced decreases the chance for positive spillover effects. This all just emphasizes the importance of hiring the right people and making good staffing decisions.

Dohse,Aimee Top-Notch Teachers

Top-notch teachers do have a positive influence on the staff! In this article they discussed mentors. I have noticed that in our mentoring program teachers are assigned a mentor; however, teachers often find their own mentor in addition to the one they have been assigned. The author of this article suggested that; perhaps, formal mentoring programs don't offer employees all of the skills they need. As a principal, I will look for good matches between mentors and new teachers. We could even review the rigidity of our program and see how we could make it fit individuals needs.

Top notch teachers

Teachers that are not afraid of innovation tend to try new things that lead to greater student engagement. I enjoy working with these teachers as there is a different energy in their classrooms that the students relate to. It is important as an administrator to give these teachers what they need and then quickly get out of their way. Some teachers are resistant and dismissive to these new teachers, but if we are always talking about the new successes happening in the building, maybe the resistant ones will start to take notice and ask questions. Some of the best teaching strategies that I have ever used were stolen from one of the effective teachers that I have worked with.

Saturday Weekend 2

If I was to send out a written note that I need to see a staff member, I would word it as follows: “ Mr. Smith, Please stop by office sometime today. This is regarding …….” This way the person knows what it is about. I myself have been in the situation of reading the note “Stop by and see me today”. And you wonder what it is about, or what the heck did I do?

Thinking about the interview questions ahead of time is a great strategy to use. I know the interviews I have been able to sit in on, a list of questions where handed to me, and it was a standard list. The people interviewing just picked questions. There was no strategy involved in the questioning. If candidates are very close, proper questions can be the difference of picking the correct candidate.

Randy Lee Says Good Saturday

I was glad we went through the steps involved in hiring someone, I have run several businesses and have had to hire many people but I have never taken the number of steps that Dr. Closen suggested today. I usually just posted an ad, again not really thinking much about what the post said other than to keep the info somewhat to a minimum due to costs, then had interviews having them fill out an application. Every once in a while I did a follow up interview, but usually I went on experience, the results from their background checks, references, their persona and finally just gut feeling. Dr. Closen mentioned he had a spreadsheet set up while being an administrator which alerted him to upcoming openings and he would start the search process sometimes upwards of 2 years before the opening presented itself. I think given today's hiring climate will require us to be just as proactive. In certain geographic areas of Iowa you will be hardpressed to find people who want to work in that district given its limited social sites, night life, etc...so to get quality people you need to start the search early and use every available network contact you have.
Tying in with that, looking at the article, the key piece to the puzzle is getting those quality teachers into your district and you can do that through networking. As Joe mentioned in his blog, we have a staff that is fairly common here in rural Iowa I believe; a majority of the teachers are older and are on the verge of retirement and then we are bringing in new younger teachers to replace those individuals so the demographics of our school is slowly changing. Along with this demographic change is coming changes in teaching styles and methods. It is tough to get old dogs to learn new tricks but I am seeing some small evidence supporting the article from our math department. As Joe said, there are two people who rarely ever use technology and yet now they are at least experimenting with it. Now whether the results are going to be seen in the student's test scores is yet to be seen but if the article has any validity to it, we should.

Saturday Oct. 24

I thought the work we did today with the recruitment and hiring process was excellent. All of the topics discussed will be quite valuable in the future.

The Top-Notch article was interesting. I find myself in agreement with what the studies appear to show. When quality teachers enter the building or even different wings of the building the productivity level seems to increase. I have noticed this in our professional development this year as teachers become better at the work we are doing everyone else on the team seems to want to become better. I am also intrigued by the hints about the small impact that structured mentor programs have. I would like to see the research on this topic.

job posting

I thought the creating of the job posting description was very beneficial. It is just one more job of an administrator that I hadn't really thought about. The way you post a job, can really have an affect on the kinds of people you get to apply for the position. People want to know what they are getting themselves into, and whether or not they actually qualify for the job. Having an interview with someone who does not actually want the job, but applied because the didn't understand what the position was, is a waste of everyone's time.

Second Saturday

I agree with the top notch teachers article. We have had new teachers and an older student teacher in the math department - this individuals created a new enery and dynamic. There was just 'a way' about the teacher that was contagious. I wanted to try new things... and not be left behind. We often wished there was more collaboration time.

Weekend 2 Sat. Blog: Article “Spillover Effects”

I have witnessed spillover effects in my school. We, as administrators, need to be careful because “spillover” can work positively but it can also work negatively. Two years ago, we had two new instructors join our department. One was a new teacher, entering the profession after a successful career in another field. This individual was an optimistic and dynamic instructor. His philosophy and pedagogy were student-centered and his practice was built on research-based strategies. He was always reading journal articles about helping at-risk kids succeed, differentiating instruction and researching strategies for literacy in content areas. Instead of looking at problems, he looked for solutions. The second individual was the exact opposite. This instructor was extremely negative, had many years of teaching experience and had a master’s degree in education (I cannot recall the exact area). This instructor viewed students that struggled as “problems.” The structure of this instructor’s class involved lectures, daily homework, a 50% late policy (regardless of extenuating circumstances), and weekly progress reports. All of us taught 9th grade biology, half of our classes were higher level biology and the other half consisted of the lower level biology classes. The spillover occurred that following year when the first instructor remained a 9th grade biology instructor, but the second instructor was placed in the upper level sciences with the “better” students. It seemed as though our biology planning sessions (weekly meetings with the 9th grade biology teachers) were more positive and we began to share more information concerning research and the latest findings in our area. We became more innovative and willing to “take risks” in the classroom to help kids understand. There was another group that planned for the upper level sciences. The second instructor joined this group. I noticed that the members of that group became negative and narrow in their focus, lingering on problems. There was a lot of finger pointing at “the kids.” Morale began to sink in that group and it had a negative effect on the professional practices of individual members. Many of my colleagues stated that the students “seemed worse off” in terms of behavior and skill in that particular year than in any other. I could not help but question if their new colleague’s attitude and approach had affected their philosophies and practices. As administrators, we need to hire with caution because the “spillover effect” can help or hinder our mission and our vision.

Filling positions and ariticle

I had really not given the idea of how much thought should go into filling a vacated or new position much thought prior to this class. I have seen vague job descriptions but had not really thought much about it I just knew that if I was looking for a job that the vague description is something I would be wary of and now thinking as an administrator I would want the description and responsibilities to be specific to help narrow the field and get the candidates I really want to apply for the job.
The article is very similar to what happened in our school. We have two teachers in the same curricular area who were very resistent to use technology. Two younger teachers were hired roughly four years apart who were comfortable with technology and the latest hire is gung ho about technology and is very willing to experiment to make his instruction better. Because of these hires at least one of the two veterans is now more willing to use technology and try some new things to improve his instruction. Both veterans are more open to the changes they need to make for Iowa Core Curriculum and differentiated instruction. It is very possible that hiring quality people and giving them support can help teachers around them improve what they do. The key words here however, are quality people and support.

Reflection on Education Week Article

Reflection to the Education Week article entitled “Top-Notch Teachers Found to Affect Peers”. I was not surprised that staff makes an important factor on student achievement. I believe that high-quality teachers will make their colleagues work harder. If you are surrounded by colleagues who are working very hard, most people in society would not want to be considered the “slacker” of the group. I believe surrounding beginning teachers with high-quality teachers early in the career will help in the overall development of the new teacher.

I was shocked that the formal mentor model seems to only affect student achievement in the area of math and reading, but had no real affect on teacher absences and/or teacher retention. I wasn’t surprised about informal mentor models not really working. I was subjected to an informal mentor model during my first and second year of teacher. I thought it was the biggest wasted of time. The mentor teacher wanted to chit-chat about school gossip and not help me develop as a teacher. Did anyone else have a mentor experience that was worthwhile? If so, what did they do?

Top Notch

Hiring and firing - the most important jobs of an administrator. This article illustrates all the more how important it is to hire the right people. The effect of the new teacher, provided they are of high quality, is a positive catalyst for excellence in instruction in the community of teachers that they work with. How exciting is that?!

I'm wondering about this concept as related merit pay. The article discusses how an individual reward might not have the same positive impact as a group (building) reward. I'm wondering, though, if there would be competition between buildings within a large school district if the merit pay funds were limited - and if this would be a good or bad thing.

Regarding the failure of formal teacher-induction programs vs. the success of informal influence from the more-effective colleagues: to me, this statement justifies the importance of teacher collaboration time. What a shame if schools streamline their workforce due to budget cuts, and the time that is provided now for teacher collaboration is eliminated.

Higbee-2nd Saturday,

I really related to our conversation this morning on the use of humor and how it can be used in our daily conversation. This is a "tool" that I use on a frequent basis and feel that 99% of the time I use it appropriately. The "Peace Primer" really disects what would be useful in conflict situations. The case study tied with the 8 platforms painted a very clear picture with a real-life scenario for each platform. Finally, I enjoyed the discussions today on the establishment of position analysis and the amount of headaches it eliminates in the long run. This is a main point that I have included in my main topic for this class of "Establishing and Maintaining a Productive Working Relationship between the Principal and Support Staff".

Saturday

I found the article about top-notch teachers extremely interesting. I completely agree that "raising the bar" by hiring top-notch teachers has a positive impact on any school. When I have someone that I can look up to and learn new things from, that will only make me better in the long run. I do have an issue with the second part of the article that questioned the effectiveness of formal mentoring programs. I covered this topic for my research paper and every piece of information that I found pointed to the fact that mentoring programs help in almost every situation. How can we deny the fact that helping someone through that potentially traumatic first year does not help? I look forward to hearing others' point of view.

Top Notch Teachers Lana Wolf

I think any time you can help teachers gain a fresh perspective they will look to improve. By hiring excellent teachers, you invite new ideas into the environment without having to specifically design and implement these ideas. There may also be a more receptive attitude as there will naturally be a mutual sharing. I liked the analogy about berry pickers. I think it is true that people will naturally perform at approximately the same productivity as the people around them, although if there is something threatening or competitive about the environment, the opposite effect might be the result.

October 24th, 2009

After reading the article on top notch teachers, I have to admit I definitely agree. One prime example in our building has been with the implementation of teaming last year. One team works extremely hard to provide interdisciplinary units, and therefore has raised the bar and standard for the other teams. They now want to be able to provide the same opportunities for thier students, which in turn is creating more opportunities for our whole building.

Week 2 Saturday

Top-notch teachers found to affect peers intrigued me. The spill over effect made me think of teahers who are innovative and try new things. They seem to bring new life into the building. Now teachers are around an exceptional teacher and feel that they need to raise thier teaching. I think this is true and wonder if you could identify this person and use them in a district to raise teacher performance and overall student scores.

Convincing great teachers to go to the inner cities is going to be hard. Being around a great teacher can make you a better teacher if you have time to collaborate and ask questions. Getting pay raises based on test scores is a scary process that might be coming down the pipe.

Managing School Personnel

I absolute LOVED the book selected for this class. I finished reading it and realized although I thought I understood all that went into running a school, I still have a LOT to learn. The ideas of what an excellent administrator should look like is something I have really taken to heart and even tried to implement some of the strategies in my classroom as a teacher. The ideas and philosophy presented are important for everyone striving to become leaders in the educational field.

On another note, the chapter on communication is exactly what I teach in my class now. Funny how this pertains to every aspect of life, not just education.

Saturday, October 24

I completely agree with the article on Top-Notch Teachers. I have found that a lot of teachers look up to those teachers who have reached Master Teacher levels. These teachers are looked to for advice and ideas. From my experience, I have seen scores increase from having instruction by a teacher who has gained higher education or National Board status. I think a lot of teachers who feel confident in their teaching abilities would not mind going to a performance-based salary. I would not, however, align the performance-based criteria on NCLB standards, but on individual student achievement, or classroom achievement. Otherwise, you are looking at too many snaffoos with having EVERY student on the same level. I also the discussions on the school policies.

Conflict

I believe that handling conflict will be one of the hardest task as an adminstrator. "The truth be told, the effective school leader needs conflict" (Closen) With conflict you are going to have change. The people that you work with need to share their ideas and beliefs therefore you are going to have conflict. Many times the ideas that others have might have caused a lot of the ocnflict ends up being a positive things. Many times in the school day things will come up that need to be taken care of right away. This can give you a feeling that there is conflict because you are not exactly sure how you are going to handle the situation.

Policy Review Conversation

The review of the personnel policies was an interesting task. As you stated, we had some common language in our board policies but had several viewpoints on each. I believe our experiences, our school's traditions, and our community's values all should be considered. The conversation changed some of my original views. . .I continue to learn!

Sunday class, Oct 4th

The IIRC project was fun, and I think that it shows the million different ways to interpret data. Maybe the IIRC should include a history piece that shows when major changes to the school or town has occurred.

Curtis - Anti Bully program

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to Olweus training. This is an anti-bullying program that my school is adopting to help change the climate in our building. I was wondering if any of you have implemented this or something similar and wanted to know your thoughts.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

Jason Curtis
Physical Education
Washington Elementary

J Cox Sunday

I enjoyed the work on the ISLLC Standards Graphic Organizer. Although parts of the worksheet were challenging in thought, it was great to discuss different aspects with classmates. As a teacher who does not work in a diverse school district, the subject and ideas shared were refreshing.
On a lighter note I enjoyed the conversation on blue jeans. There seems to be someone pushing the envelope in my district on a daily basis not only with the blue jeans but with the Old Navy rubber flip flops!

Climate, Culture, and a Challenge

I loved talking about the variable that go into creating the climate and culture of a school. I also found it interesting that although we all want to be administrators, not all of us were in for a challenge. The case study covering "Combes Public School" created a good conversation and made me do some serious soul searching. I realized that I would much rather working a school like this than a school that appears to have it all together. The only thing I thought about was how much fun it would be to get into this school to work with this amazing staff and create a school that could help repair a broken community. I know, I know, a little too bleeding heart.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The 11 top strategies for culture change really stood out for me today. I tried posting this blog once and then it said there was an edit conflict; so therefore, this post will not be near in length as the original!!! I would first take some sort of a culture survey when I entered the building or during the summer. This will help me in knowing whether or not it will be wise to make even small changes such as the wall color in the entry way, or what-have-you. Some person or some group may have a special attachment to even the smallest of changes we think about when we enter our own building. With the survey results, I'll be able to approach change quickly or slowly, depending on my building!

Culture Survey

I thought it was interesting to hear the different examples given for the School Culture Survey. It seems that each district has areas of concentration. For us, I rated our district high for "experimentation", "tangible supports", and "high expectations". While other districts were rated high for "appreciation & recognition", "caring-celebration-humor" & "honest, open communication". I rated ours as 3s for those. Can a district do it all? That's the challenge that I see as an administrator. Highly Qualified Personnel (support staff, included) would be very helpful in keeping up!

Characteristics of an Effective Leader

Thinking about what was discussed in class as well as what Roberts had to say in chapter two I began to think about the book Lincoln on Leadership. Lincoln made decisions that not everyone agreed with, but yet they still respected him because of the characteristics he displayed on a regular basis. It didn’t matter who the person was or what problem he was trying to resolve, he still treated everyone with respect and trusted the people he put in charge to make decisions. If the person making that decision made the wrong one, he helped that person learn from their mistakes so they could grow as a leader. Those are characteristics of a true leader. This is a great book and if you haven't read it, I would highly recommend doing so.

Weekend 1 {sunday}

I found the discussion on dress interesting. It is interesting to know where the line is drawn between professional and unprofessional. Is it a jacket and tie, shirt and tie, nice dress shirt and pants, or t shirt and jeans? It seems like it is going to vary from district and from school to school. The administrator just needs to let everyone know what the Board Policy says, the contract, or what he/she expects in regards to dress. In the 70’s the dress code was a hot topic here at KHS. The administrators where trying to require neck ties, and some male teachers where challenging that issue. Teachers where even sent home to get a neck tie on. My understanding of this issue was that things got pretty heated between teachers and administrators during this time. Dress is now addressed in the Kewanee contract because of the neck tie issue in the 1970’s.